


In The Family

by Vinnamon_Spice



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson, The Politician
Genre: Idk I saw a lot of similarities between Payton and Evan and wanted to explore that, Most of these characters are mentioned and don't really make an appearance tbh, so might as well strike while the iron is hot lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 01:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20827217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinnamon_Spice/pseuds/Vinnamon_Spice
Summary: Payton Hobart, adoptive son of Keaton and Georgina Hobart, learns that lying must run in his birth family.In which Payton meets Evan Hansen.





	1. Searching

Payton Hobart, the adoptive son of a rich, successful family. All he knows of his birth mother is that she was a cocktail waitress. When the dean of Harvard probes him about it during his interview, he’s actually a little thrown off. He had this entire interview scripted out in his head, with him dazzling the dean with his many merits and accomplishments, and securing his acceptance. Instead, he’s asked about a woman he never knew and frankly hadn’t thought about in years. Why would he? He has a family, as unhealthy as it is, a loving mother, a father he barely knows, brothers that torment him. Knowing his birth parents was never part of the plan; It wouldn’t help him in his run for president. But when everything goes to shit in his senior year of high school, one full of manipulation, lies, and deceit. He neglected and lied to a girl about her nonexistent cancer, causing her to get sicker and sicker under the care of her only family member until she eventually found out, manipulation of his brothers in order to please his father, used a boy’s suicide as a platform to push his agenda during an election for class president. While gun safety was important and was a genuine concern for him and his classmates, the opportunity was just too good to pass up. 

However in the end, when high school is over and he’s left on his own, playing piano in a bar, becoming more and more dependant on alcohol as the days pass, as the hallucination of a boy he once loved busses tables around him, he begins to think of his birth mother again. Maybe she would have answers. Maybe it would make him understand more about himself to know where he comes from. To know why he was so ambitious, so emotionless, so, so bad. He wanted to do good things, he really did, but he wasn't a good person. Maybe his mother wasn't a good person either. Maybe she had faults, maybe she had ruined her own life, too. 

And so he puts his political life on pause for a bit. He seeks his birth family out, and finds the cocktail waitress who had given birth to him. He finds her name, her face, her address. Heidi Hansen. A tired-looking middle-aged woman with blonde hair, blue eyes. Digging a little more, he also finds out about a project named after another suicide victim, made and was run by a boy who looked exactly like him. Evan Hansen.


	2. Findings

James had been quite skeptical when he announced his sudden wish to visit his birth mother. He had left out the part about the other boy. Payton wanted to meet him himself, and confirm his own suspicions before bringing that topic up to James.

And about a week later, Payton finds himself standing in front of a wooden door, a door that separated him from his birth family. He knew he should knock, but he couldn’t bring his arm to move. What if this was just a giant mistake? Here he was, a broken, feeling and awful man, about to force himself back into their lives. Payton fidgets with the hem of his sweater nervously, the burgundy coloured material running through his fingers. Taking a deep breath, he musters up all of his charms and charisma and brings his fist up to knock on the old wood. 

Or, at least he tried to, when the door suddenly swung open, revealing a short, blond man wearing a black zip up hoodie over a blue shirt. The other boy was shouting a goodbye over his shoulder-presumably to his mother. He turned, and suddenly Payton felt like he was looking in a mirror. The black clothed boy became slacked jawed, his shoulders becoming stiff and his eyebrows rising. 

“What the fuck?” The other said, blue eyes meeting blue. 

“Uh, hello. My name is Payton Hoba-“ Payton tried to introduce himself, only to have his mirror image to interrupt him. 

“What the fuck.” Said louder, this time, catching the attention of the mother, who walked over to the door as her son continued to stand in the doorway. 

“Evan? What’s wrong? Everything okay?” And suddenly, Payton was looking at his mother. Shoulder length, blonde hair shoved messily into a bun, familiar blue eyes looking cautiously at the boy named Evan. It felt like being punched in the chest, for Payton to finally come into contact with his mother. He had known so little about her, and even after seeing her photos online, he still felt disconnected from her. How could he not? It had been almost twenty years without her, without seeing her or hearing her voice, only for that to all change within five minutes. He couldn’t stop himself from just staring at her, taking in the sight of the woman who had brought him into this world. Finally she looked back at him, wanting to discover what had gotten Evan so confused. Her eyes widened, and it almost seemed that tears were welling up as she stared back at him. 

“Um, hi.” Payton said, stupidly. He cursed himself inwardly. He was a politician for god’s sake! And the best he could come up with was ‘hi’? “I’m, uh-“ Payton found himself cut off again, this time by his mother instead of Evan. 

“Payton.” His mother’s voice sounded wobbly, thick and emotional. Payton could feel himself getting choked up as he nodded. Evan looked confused, beginning to slightly step back in order to let his mother into the doorframe. As soon as she had enough space, their mother all but launched herself at Payton, engulfing him in an embrace. Payton stood there for a second, unsure of how to respond. But the his shaking hands found her back, and he allowed himself to duck his face into his birth mother’s neck as she cried into his shoulder. 

-

A few moments later, Payton found himself sitting in a worn couch, being handed a steaming cup of coffee as Evan sat in a chair to the side, staring into his own cup. His mother-Heidi, sat herself down in between them, setting her mug down on the coffee table. 

“So, I think we need to have a talk, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!!
> 
> Here's the second chapter. I had a lot of ideas for this one and I'm not sure if I got them all out in a clear, understandable manner so if there are any confusions please let me know. It's been so long since I've last written lmao. I'm rusty. 
> 
> I'm also still trying to figure out Payton's character. I'm basically ignoring the ending of the series, and cutting off the last episode so the big reunion doesn't happen. Payton is living with James, playing piano and singing in a bar, and decides he wants to find his mother. These beginning chapters will likely be rewritten as i rewatch the series + plan the fic. Thanks to the kudos/comments on chapter one!! I hope y'all continue to like it and as always comments/suggestions/etc are always welcome!!
> 
> Thank you <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly just for myself. I saw a lot of similarities between Evan and Payton and thought it was ironic that both were played by the incredible Mr. Ben Platt, so I wanted to play with the idea that Payton wasn't the only Hobart twin. 
> 
> This might be a few chapters long but won't really go past the ending of season one of the politician unless I have a lot of inspiration lmao.
> 
> Suggestions/critiques welcome! Thanks for reading if you got this far!


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